Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the country would disembark the migrants stranded for two weeks aboard a humanitarian ship in the Mediterranean Sea after six European countries agreed to accept all of them.

Rescued migrants listen to a mediator as they wait aboard the "Ocean Viking" rescue ship, jointly operated by French NGOs SOS Mediterranee and Medecins sans Frontieres ( Doctors Without Borders) on August 21, 2019, at sea between Malta and Lampedusa, after a search-and-rescue operation in the Mediterranean Sea.
(AFP)

Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Friday that six EU countries had agreed to take in 356 migrants stranded on a rescue ship in the Mediterranean as charities warned food supplies onboard were running out.

The Norwegian-flagged Ocean Viking, run by charities MSF and SOS Mediterranee, has sought a port for almost two weeks after rescuing four boats of migrants off the Libyan coast between August 9 and 12.

Maltese navy boats will transfer the migrants from outside its territorial waters to land.

Following discussions with @EU_Commission and a number of Member States, namely #France and #Germany, #Malta has agreed to be part of the solution in the #OceanViking stalemate, which has 356 person on board, without prejudice to its legal position. 1/2

They will then be relocated to other member states, Muscat tweeted, listing destination countries like France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Romania.

"None will remain in Malta," he wrote, saying a deal was agreed after talks with the European Commission.

"Malta has agreed to be part of the solution in the Ocean Viking stalemate, which has 356 persons on board, without prejudice to its legal position," he said.

"Good news!" rescue operator Nicholas Romaniuk told AFP on board the boat, while saying they did not know when the migrants would be transferred.

🔴 "They are petrified they will be taken back to Libya where they have been exposed to horrendous abuses and arbitrary detention. Some are survivors of shipwrecks or bombings. They all deserve safety."